Monthly HHS & CMS Update:

EHR Technology – Best Practices to Enhance the Patient Experience

In recent years, much has been written about electronic health records (EHR) technology. Practically everything published about EHR centers around Meaningful Use adoption, government incentive programs, and how the technology itself is a tool for physicians to deliver more efficient and higher quality care to patients.

Medical Practice Marketing – Best Practices For Attracting New Patients Using Health IT Capabilities

Effective marketing is a key play for any business, regardless of industry. Attracting new patients to a medical practice is no different. Most often, physicians market their credentials, emphasizing their education, board certifications, experience, and hospital affiliations. Also, many physicians establish relationships with other providers to create a referral network and many practices encourage existing patients to refer friends and family to the practice.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 illustrating what can be accomplished when physicians use electronic health records (EHR) technology rather than paper records.

Electronic Health Records and Quality of Diabetes Care

Incentives to increase adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) anticipate a quality-related financial return.1,2 However, empirical data showing either quality improvement or cost savings from EHR adoption are scarce. Available studies have shown few quality-related advantages of current EHR systems over traditional paper-based medical-record systems.

Monthly HHS & CMS Update:

HHS Consumer Health IT Summit Power-Charged For Progress

Here is a follow up to last week’s HHS National Health It Week. Sept. 12 was a big day for healthcare IT. Federal officials hosted a consumer health IT summit, jam-packed with new initiatives to advance HIT. The event was charged with a wave of energy toward grass roots change, specifically supporting patient-centered care.

CMS Plans EHR Incentive Appeals Process

ONC Aims To Ease Patient Consent Problem

Patient consent is one of the thornier issues in healthcare today. The benefits of patients allowing providers to share their data and those providers, in turn, playing nicely with competitors, stand to improve care both for individuals and global populations in myriad ways.